


Perfectly Windless Sky

by orphan_account



Category: NSYNC
Genre: M/M, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-10
Updated: 2010-03-10
Packaged: 2017-10-07 20:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/69081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>JC sees more than other people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfectly Windless Sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lesa Soja](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Lesa+Soja).



JC opened his eyes and saw Justin cast in shadows. Justin's face was in transition from sadness to relief, and only when JC opened his eyes and coughed up water did Justin smile.

The sun was bright, but he didn't remember it being like that. He remembered being in Justin's house at night, even remembering the beautiful night sky and how he had idly wished for a falling star while he was walking around Justin's pool.

"JC," Justin said. He smoothed a shaky hand over JC's forehead, slicking JC's hair back where it was getting in JC's eyes. "Come on, man."

He was lying on the ground, staring up at Justin's carved features. The sun shone from behind Justin and the others as he looked around. They had clustered around him in a protective circle, all of them kneeling. They were wearing almost identical expressions of relief and happiness. He found it hard to look at them though because of the bright light all around them.

Joey put his head down on JC's chest and mumbled, "You fucking scared us, you fuck!" Lance put a hand on Joey's back and held JC's hand. He tried to smile but it seemed like he wanted to cry more.

JC heard sirens and winced. Chris ran off in their direction. Justin bent down and kissed JC on the mouth, and JC instinctively kissed back. Justin let out a strangled laugh that turned into a sob, but kept laying small fast pecks around JC's mouth before a final close-mouthed kiss that was half a prayer, half a song.

* * *

 

When the paramedics came, JC couldn't keep track of everyone. He saw a slim black female paramedic rushing towards him who had the most beautiful dark eyes, like pools of ink. He heard Justin's voice ringing out "I'm coming with him." He heard the others asking "What hospital, what hospital?" They still sounded like they were harmonizing, Chris's voice rising, Lance's voice uncommonly high but still grounded by his natural bass and Joey and Justin somewhere in the middle. He giggled at that, which made the female paramedic smile at him.

"I'm Felicia, and my buddy Tom and I here, we'll get you okay. You gotta lie there and do as you're told though, okay?"

Tom was a blur of pale flesh and dark fabric beside him, a nasal whine of a voice agreeing with Felicia.

"Who found him?" Felicia said.

"I did, a few minutes ago" Justin replied, a slight quiver in his voice.

The rest was a fevered rush from the stretcher to the ambulance. JC still felt a heavy presence in his lungs and his eyes weren't focusing. He kept seeing tendrils of light behind Felicia, wavy and mesmerizing. Justin clambered on to the ambulance and JC smiled at him. Justin always kept him anchored.

* * *

 

"Justin's talking to the doctor," Lance said. "Chris is with him. You know how Justin is when people tell him things he doesn't really want to hear."

"So why'd we send Chris with him?" Joey asked. Lance smiled at that.

JC stared at them unblinkingly.

Lance met his eyes briefly then looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Joey was still talking, trying awkwardly to alleviate the odd tension in the air.

"Man, with Chris and Justin both hearing bad news, can you imagine what that doctor must be going through? Not that there'll be bad news," Joey amended hastily. "I'm sure you'll come out of this spacier than ever, C."

JC continued to stare, Joey's attempt at levity barely registering.

"JC, what is it?" Lance asked, finally surrendering.

"You both have wings," JC said softly.

Joey and Lance exchanged a look. "Wings?" Lance asked.

"They're beautiful," JC said. "Like, um, big light, all around you. It goes through walls. They even leave behind like, little feathers made of light," JC said, stretching out an open hand.

Lance's face turned to stone while Joey looked at JC with his mouth slightly agape.

"I'm not crazy," JC said feebly into the pregnant silence. He suddenly felt so exhausted, which made it easier to pretend to be sleepy, because he couldn't stand the expressions on their faces. Then he didn't have to pretend, and just slept.

* * *

 

Memories came back in dreams, in little flashes of an alternate and violent consciousness.

Shot after shot of whatever liquor Chris, Joey and Lance had bought, plus whatever else he already had in Justin's house. The ice cubes were white and opaque. The air outside was a bit cool, the night starry and clear. His limbs felt like honey, liquid and useless. He tripped into the pool, his feet looking like they were doing an awkward choreography as he tried to maintain his balance at first. Justin's pool was absurdly blue. He relived the shock of cold water that sobered him a bit, and the taste of chlorine as his mouth opened in shock. Shot after shot of pool water which he helped Justin clean out that morning because the pool man didn't come. Afterwards, an easy slide into a place where he felt buoyed by the wind, a peaceful fatigue in his limbs. It was too long and it wasn't nearly enough.

Without warning, he felt a powerful tug into a maelstrom of harsh sounds and smeared landscapes. A bird with its wings violently torn off falling, droplets of its blood falling like an echo above it, in its talons a shapeless, immutable thing it clutched onto tightly, in its fading cries a note of triumph.

Then, morning came, a most jarring event. He saw Justin's face, a beautiful sight to see first thing when he woke up, something he has enjoyed seeing next to him for the past year now. Justin, with shadows obscuring his face the further the sun rose in the cloudless sky.

JC woke up screaming.

* * *

 

They all soothed him when he woke up, Justin hugging him down to the bed, his arms cautious and gentle around JC. Worry was a pea soup fog in the room.

After calming down, JC cautiously looked around him, his heart slamming in his chest.

Joey had wings - fiery bright wings, an intense yellow light with sharp defined edges like an eagle. Where they passed through walls, they shimmered into various other yellows, like lemon and sun and yellow so light it was almost white.

Lance's wings were perfectly symmetrical, like carved white light etched delicately with gold at the tips. They fluttered and left specks of light that JC could see on the floor and on the walls.

Chris's left wing was oddly crooked, but still delicately beautiful. His seemed more ethereal than Lance's, like a whisper of smooth, smoky fabric that spread out to the shape of wings.

Justin had none. JC began to cry and couldn't bring himself to stop.

* * *

 

All four of them took him home, tossing concerned glances back and forth. Physically, the doctors said he was fine. In fact, it was almost miraculous, the doctors had said, because there was absolutely no damage they could trace - although it was likely that JC would get pneumonia.

They all puttered around him, making him feel incredibly special and incredibly incompetent at the same time. Joey was cooking something in the kitchen. "Chicken soup, like my mom used to make. Nothing like it!" Chris was busy getting pillows and a comforter because JC wanted to stay in Justin's couch for a little while. Lance was making phone calls in the another room, dealing with Johnny and JC's family.

Justin sat beside him gingerly. "Are you going to be okay?"

JC bit back a bitter laugh. "You all think I'm crazy," he said.

"I don't think you are," Justin said quietly. Justin went closer to him and put his head on JC's chest. JC ran a hand over Justin's curls.

"I see your wings," Justin said. "They're big and white. They go through walls. They're always spread out, like you're flying, only on the ground."

JC took Justin in his arms gently. Justin nuzzled into his shirt. They stayed in each other's arms for the rest of the night, even when the others started to joke around about how attached they were.

At JC's insistence, everyone stayed the night in Justin's house. JC made sure to give them all a big hug. His hands went through the feather-like light, and he felt a little spark at the base of his spine whenever his hands came near their wings.

"You're going to be okay, thank God," Chris said. Joey just let JC hug him before grabbing JC fiercely. He swung JC around before he remembered where JC was that day and let go sheepishly. Lance hugged him the longest, his arms tight around JC's torso and shoulders. Their wings spread out and folded around them whenever he was in their arms.

Justin led him to his room, where he proceeded to help JC take off his clothes and into bed. JC sat on the bed and watched Justin take off his own clothes, Justin's movements made graceless by fatigue. JC moved up on the bed to allow Justin to slip in behind him, Justin folding his arms around JC's chest, his hand on JC's heart.

"I love you so much," Justin said before burying his face on JC's shoulder.

"I know," JC said.

* * *

 

Long ago, JC's mother told him a story about a secret tuck in the universe and a little boy who had the key to this magical place. His mother told it in a light and airy voice, a voice that she adopted whenever she told him fairy tales. In this space were random things like car keys, a shoe, a sock, a book here and there. He found comfort in that story because his mom always told him in the end that there was a special place for everything lost.

 

THE END


End file.
